Strengthening Household Resilience Through Dairy Goat Interventions

In Dodoma Region, 31-year-old Ndikiray is driven by a simple but profound hope: to give her two young sons, Juma* (4) and Eliud* (11), a healthier and more promising future. Like many parents in rural Tanzania, she carries the daily responsibility of ensuring her children are fed, protected, and able to grow to their full potential. 

For years, Ndikiray relied on tailoring to support her family. Despite her hard work, the income she earned was rarely enough to provide a consistently nutritious diet for her children. Most days, meals consisted of basic staples such as ugali and okra filling but insufficient to meet the nutritional needs of growing children. Animal-based foods and other nutrient-rich options were often beyond reach, leaving her sons vulnerable to malnutrition and the long-term challenges it brings.

That changed when she became one of 1,898 participants in Save the Children’s Lishe Yangu, Maisha Yangu (Improving Food and Nutrition Security in Dodoma) project. Through this initiative, she received dairy goat training in animal husbandry, enabling her to improve her children's diet and reduce the financial strain of buying milk.

“After I received the goat, things started to change,” Ndikiray said. “Now my children drink nutritious milk every day. I no longer have to worry about where to find it or how to pay for it.”

The goat’s milk quickly became a vital part of her sons’ daily meals, supporting their physical development and protecting them from illnesses linked to poor nutrition. The health benefits were clear and for Ndikiray, a mother raising her children alone, this brought peace of mind.

As the goat began producing more milk, Ndikiray was able to sell the surplus, earning up to 2,000 Tanzania shillings per liter and investing the income back into her household. She also sold manure, earning up to 5,000 shillings per bucket, which she saved through a local women’s group. With time, she built a chicken coop, began growing vegetables, and is now dreaming of opening a small fabric shop to further support her family. 

To ensure the long-term impact of the project, participants are not only given livestock but also trained in sustainable animal care, nutrition education, and small business management. By promoting savings groups, peer mentoring, and the passing-on of goats to other families, the project builds community resilience and creates a multiplying effect, so that even after direct project support ends, families can continue to grow their livelihoods, maintain diverse diets, and support one another.

Empowering women caregivers like Ndikiray is central to the project's approach to improving child nutrition and household resilience. By strengthening women’s ability to generate income, build assets, and make decisions for their families, the project is not only enhancing food security but also promoting gender equality and long-term wellbeing for children and communities.

“I want to give my children the best chance in life. I believe my goats can help me pay for their school fees, and I’ll keep working until that dream is real,” she said.

Ndikiray’s children are not the only ones benefiting. She shares excess milk with neighborhood children, helping to improve nutrition across the community. This ripple effect shows how one intervention, when focused on caregivers, can protect and nourish many children.

“When my children’s friends come to play in the morning, I give them milk. It makes me happy to know they are not going hungry,”she said.

The Lishe Yangu, Maisha Yangu (Improving Food and Nutrition Security in Dodoma) project is funded by Save the Children Korea and implemented by Save the Children Tanzania. Aiming to improve the nutrition of children under five and pregnant or lactating women in Chamwino and Bahi District Councils, Dodoma Region.

Operating in 58 wards and 166 villages, the project strengthens household nutrition by providing dairy goats and training to vulnerable families. By focusing on agropastoral communities, the initiative promotes livestock care, dietary diversity, and sustainable food systems.

The project aims to achieve a 70% increase in household food security and a 5% reduction in child stunting, ensuring children not only survive but grow healthy and strong.

Ndikiray’s story is one of resilience, but it is also a story about children, about what it means for a mother to have the means to nourish her children, send them to school, and watch them grow without fear.

“Projects like these are more than goats. They are about giving children a chance. I believe that, and I am proof of it,” she said.

With the support of Save the Children and her own commitment, she is now building a safe and healthy foundation for her children and inspiring other women to do the same.